Local BT exchange 'condition red' - date for fixing it gets delayed

Back in April I got a new BT line installed, primarily for broadband, at a cost of about £130. The engineer assured me that because we are less than 1 mile from the exchange, I would get a great broadband speed.True enough, once my PlusNet broadband was up and running, I was getting around 5000 kbps. Although well short of the advertised 'peak' 8 Meg, I was still more than happy with that.A few weeks later, I noticed the connection speed suddenly dropped to about 1300 kbps. WFT? Upon investigation, PlusNet told me that the problem is the local exchange, which is on "virtual paths: red":"BT is reporting that some of the virtual paths at this exchange are not operating within BT Wholesale's planning guidance, although they are still operating within the product specification.At busy times, your ADSL connection may operate at a reduced speed, although not all customers on your exchange may be affected. You should only contact support if there is no current ETA date set."From what this says, it sounds like the connection would only be reduced sometimes, at peak times. But PlusNet told me, no, this would just make it slow all the time. The date given to fix this was 24 May, so I thought, OK a few weeks at the reduced speed - I can handle that.Beginning of June came and went and no change. Now I check again and the proposed work date to fix it is now reported as 6 July. No explanation as to the delay. If it really does get fixed at the beginning of July, then that will be something. But I have no way of knowing if they will just push it back again.Meantime I'm paying £20 per month for a 1 Meg connection. No reductions or refunds because PlusNet say it is BT's responsibility. Apparently no way to contact BT about it, absolutely no come-back. So I can either sit here and wait, or move to cable internet (which I probably should have done in the first place. Although now I've just paid BT £130 for the new line).There is something pretty flawed in this BT wholesale system...

If your modem/router sync rate has dropped to 1300kbps than this not down to the virtual paths but line conditions. Try rebooting to see if you can sync at a higher rate, this may be worth readingIf the 1300kbps is from a speedtest and you modem/router is connected at 5000kbps than this could be down to the virtual paths. Try doing more speed tests to see if this change at different times in the day.

Looking at your account it appears the IP profile has dropped, this will have been caused by a low sync at sometime. What speed is your router syncing at now? It's also worth having a read through this.

Thanks for the replies. Yes, I've tested the speed (using something like www.speedtest.net) at various times of day, and it's always in the region of 1300 kps.According to the BT speedtest:IP profile for your line is - 6000 kbpsDSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM) 6816 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1353 kbpsSo from what you guys are saying, this probably does look like a problem with contention at the exchange, right? Because my IP profile is fine, but the actual throughput is low...

Hmm, I don't think this is contention at the exchange. Can you reboot your router and try a speedtest again, the IP profile we have doesn't match the one from the BT speedtest you've provided. I've given it a nudge and all should be well again.

Me too!I had my BRAS profile reset (upwards) and my figures are broadly similar,Profile=6500Kbps, Sync=7712Kbps, Noise margin 6dBHowever, the speedtester maxes out at about 1400KbpsA download of some old firefox couldn't manage more than 150KBps.I have never noticed contention on my connection - ever.BTW BT say their exchange is really green.

Quote from: thesheep

Yes, I've tested the speed (using something like www.speedtest.net) at various times of day, and it's always in the region of 1300 kps.According to the BT speedtest:IP profile for your line is - 6000 kbpsDSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM) 6816 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 1353 kbpsSo from what you guys are saying, this probably does look like a problem with contention at the exchange, right? Because my IP profile is fine, but the actual throughput is low...

I have seen this on a local exchange which my Dad was connected to.He had his speed upgraded to upto 8mbps, with a speed of 7mbps.When he was connected the router was sync at around 7mbps, but all he was getting was 50kbps. At the time the exchange was showing the exact same status back in January, and it took until April for them to actually fix the problem, after it got put off Week after week between January until April.When the exchange was exentually back on a Green light, he was getting speeds 500-600 kbps as expected.Andy

Hi Stu, Unfortunately I can't affect the IP profile Basically our systems have a value which should match the IP profile and ensure you get the best possible speed. Until the IP profile is raised on the BT side there isn't anything I can do.

Hmm, I don't think this is contention at the exchange. Can you reboot your router and try a speedtest again, the IP profile we have doesn't match the one from the BT speedtest you've provided. I've given it a nudge and all should be well again.

Thanks Chris. I think that has helped. I've tested it over the past 4 hours and get actual throughput of between 2000 and 4000 kbps now.10 am:IP profile for your line is - 6000 kbpsDSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM) 7584 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 2035 kbps3:30 pm:IP profile for your line is - 6000 kbpsDSL connection rate: 448 kbps(UP-STREAM) 7584 kbps(DOWN-STREAM)Actual IP throughput achieved during the test was - 4027 kbpsIt's still not up to 5000 as it was, but if it stays around 4000 then that is fine. I'm a bit surprised that PlusNet support staff didn't see what you did when I submitted a support ticket (Actually I submitted around support requests before posting here - they just said there is nothing they can do). So from this experience, it makes more sense to post problems on this forum rather than through the support system!Thanks again for your help.